Boredom while running

So I'm toward the end of training for a marathon and I can't believe how boring it is to run. Anyone have any ways to keep yourself distracted while running for three or four hours? Music hasn't worked.

So I'm toward the end of training for a marathon and I can't believe how boring it is to run. Anyone have any ways to keep yourself distracted while running for three or four hours? Music hasn't worked.

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Run through a bad neighborhood. Keeps you on your toes AND improves your time.

So I'm toward the end of training for a marathon and I can't believe how boring it is to run. Anyone have any ways to keep yourself distracted while running for three or four hours? Music hasn't worked.

So I'm toward the end of training for a marathon and I can't believe how boring it is to run. Anyone have any ways to keep yourself distracted while running for three or four hours? Music hasn't worked.

So I'm toward the end of training for a marathon and I can't believe how boring it is to run. Anyone have any ways to keep yourself distracted while running for three or four hours? Music hasn't worked.

I usually write stories in my head while running, but since you are training for a marathon I guess you want to keep focused on your time.
So try either changing your running routes or visualize the marathon itself.

I really like the Slate culture and political podcasts. They are oozing with oblivious pretension to the point of almost being self-parody at times, but still really entertaining. Plus, they are 40-50 minutes long, which is often an issue with trying to find podcasts because they are so short. I wish I could find just some straight news and news commentary daily podcasts for just this purpose, but they are usually only about five minutes long.

As an aside, I once did this story about high school cross country, and got an earful from an angry coach who thought that I was somehow slamming his sport. Definitely a what-am-I-doing-with-my-life moment.

I don't run nearly as far as you probably are, so I don't know for certain if I could ever get bored running. I just blast music in my ears, but I barely even hear it, because I get into a zone when I run. That is why I can't imagine being bored while I run. My mind rapid fires. All the time. Even when I am trying to fall asleep. It's a curse. Running is the only thing, other than serious drugs, that truly calms my mind and allows me to focus on nothing. I love that feeling -- getting physically exhausted, sweating and being able to push myself, because of the feeling of calm and the fact that my mind can be on a vacation in some dreamland a thousand miles away. I can't imagine the boredom of just running if I didn't have that.